Need help for a neighbor's gecko... Some kind of mouth infection...

[StatikStepz]

Hello, I'm posting this thread for the neighbor kids across the street that I sold a gecko to about a year ago. This is "Camo", their Giant Normal het Tremper. He's doing pretty good, and they take very good care of him, as I have shown them how to properly care for their gecko. About a month ago, they came over to see me because they were worried because "Camo" had stopped eating, and they wondered why. So, I checked the temps, caging, etc etc etc, and everything appears fine and normal, and explained how sometimes as geckos get larger, their appetite may slow down, so that might be the case... Well, anyway, they got crickets, supers, mealies... he won't eat anything for about a month and a half now... He still is big, very well supplemented, and has a nice thick tail and all...

But when I went to check on him the other day, I noticed something is wrong with his mouth. The right side og his lip seems to be curled up with a scab for some reason and kind of red in color. I asked how humid they keep it, thinking it might have to do with the humidity, but they just put a wet paper towel under his hide when he is about to shed, so can't be that... Anyway, here are some pix... Anyone ever seen this or have it happen to them or have any ideas of what this might be, or how it can be cured? I'm sure whatever it is, is the reason why he has stopped eating as of recent. "Camo" is not a biter at all, but I could tell whatever it was that is the infection in his gums/lip deffinately is bringing him some pain, because any time i touched it, or tried to open his mouth, he went nuts and tried to bite.

Any input would be greatly appreciated, as you can imagine how worried 2 brothers (one is 9, and the other is 12) are about their beloved little pet! Thanks!

 

[Dog Shrink]

It looks like mouth rot (Stomatitis) to me. Lemme find you a link for care on it.

http://www.petplace.com/reptiles/mouth-rot-infectious-stomatitis-ulcerative-stomatitis/page1.aspx


http://www.triciaswaterdragon.com/mouthrot.htm

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gbv=2&q=mouth+rot&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iw#hl=en&gbv=2&&sa=X&ei=iAnXTMPTFsL7lwerk8WDCQ&ved=0CBgQBSgA&q=mouth+rot&spell=1&fp=4b3eeabb4c23868d

Hope some of this helps. It doesn't look too bad off right now. Looks like y'all caught it pretty early so hopefully it should clear up really well for yas.

 

[StatikStepz]

Thanks for the input! I was thinking mouth rot was usually always caused by humidities being too high in the enclosure, so thats why i said that i checked to see how the humidity was in there, because I was thinking it couldn't have been mouth rot. And since I have never had a gecko come down with mouth rot, I haven't really seen what it looks like. But after reading some of that, and checkin out some pix, I'm pretty sure thats what it might be... I'll try taking over some hydrogen peroxide over to them tommorrow to treat it, and going to have them go to a vet to see if they can get some sort of a antibacterial for it, because as you said, i think it was caught pretty early, so hopefully can clear it up!

 

[Dog Shrink]

Any time Chris... I would suggest either taking it in to the vet since I believe I read it could be viral, bacterial, parasitic, or fungal. I think you might want a type specific medcine that is going to be effective the first time around. Also the vet may just let you take a culture for him (if it's not too complex, something simple like a swab) and he could culture it for you to find the type of infection it is. Please let me know how this turns out

 

[T-ReXx]

Yeah I'd say mouth rot. Taking the gecko in(or a swab, though you'll need a sterile culturette for that, the vet should be able to give you one) would be wise. If it's fungal, antibiotics aren't going to do anything. Generally, mouth rot is caused by either temps being too low or humidity being to high, but it can also happen if there's a minor wound in the mouth that gets infected. The vet should be able to help you out. Stomatitis is very treatable if caught before it gets too bad, and that looks fairly early on.